Glamtiques: Coupe Series

Cesare Colombo, nicknamed Joe, was born in Milan in 1930. He spent the early part of his career as an Abstract Expressionist painter and sculptor, but shifted his focus to architecture and design, opening his own studio in 1962. Always ahead of his time, Joe Colombo used new materials and technologies to explore his visions of the future.

Joe Colombo's remarkable and award-winning career came to an unexpected end in 1971, when he died on his 41st birthday. He is widely considered one of the 20th century's most influential designers, leaving a legacy of work that still feels modern and revolutionary today.

The Coupe series was inspired by the Spider Floor Lamp Colombo designed for Oluce in 1965. It has the same fire-painted metallic base and delicate chrome stem as its popular predecessor. But the clever plastic mechanism that connects the stem to the lamp's aluminum head is an innovation that makes Coupe more versatile and functional. It allows the reflector to be tilted, rotated and adjusted in height, casting light in several directions.

An instant success, Coupe won the International Design Award of the American Institute of Interior Designers in Chicago in 1968. This design icon is also part of the permanent collections at New York's MoMA and the Neue Sammlung Museum in Munich.

The renowned Coupe product family has a wonderful variety of lamps with distinctive looks that serve specific functions. The Coupe 3321 Floor Lamp, 1158 Wall Light and 2202 Table Lamp have a semi-cylindrical-shaped head. In contrast, the 3320/R Arc Floor Lamp and 1559/R Wall Light have a graceful semi-spherical dome.

Originally, Coupe was only available in black or white. To mark the lamp's 50th anniversary, Oluce released just 500 of the Coupe 3321 Gold Limited Edition Floor Lamps. These sleek, gold trim lamps feature a 50th anniversary engraving on the base. In 2021, Oluce expanded the collection to include the diminutive Mini Coupe Desk Lamp in a range of bold new colors.